Culture Aplenty is social comment and awareness about all things artsy and culturally interesting in Sparkle City

The arts… the wonderful tangible and intangible that enhance our lives and the quality of our existence. … Supporting cultural assets and music, drama, dance, paintings, literature, poetry, films, and so much more is a very personal choice and preference of our giving dollars. So why do we support the arts?… Read More »

Before Main Street boasted carolers clad in Victorian costumes, ballerinas dancing in window displays, and live nativities, families planned their holiday visits to downtown Spartanburg in order to see “The Night Before Christmas Dioramas” in the windows of Aug. W. Smith’s Department Store.… Read More »

At some point we stopped going to mass, the nativity scene and other decorations remained in boxes in the attic, and eventually our 6-foot Christmas tree was replaced with what my mom called, “The Most Charlie Brown-Like Tree [She] Could Find.” I say this not to lament the loss of my family’s tradition, but to point out how Christmas can mean and be many different things to different people, and it can still be Christmas.… Read More »

About This Blog

Christmas is complicated. I was raised Catholic. I grew up in a house where we would go to mass either on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning. We always had a Christmas tree in our living room, candles in the windows, and a nativity scene on the mantle. As my sister and I got older—she’s now married and on the way to starting her own family—the traditions that once defined our holiday experience slowly drifted away. At some point we stopped going to mass, the nativity scene and other decorations remained in boxes in the attic, and eventually our 6-foot Christmas tree was replaced with what my mom called, “The Most Charlie Brown-Like Tree [She] Could Find.”

I say this not to lament the loss of my family’s tradition, but to point out how Christmas can mean and be many different things to different people, and it can still be Christmas. Every year my family gets together. We cook a big meal. Occasionally, we exchange gifts. But mostly we sit around, tell stories, and make each other laugh. Although we may have shed many of our past traditions, we held onto the one that was the most important to us: taking a break from everything else to spend time with people we love.

Since I moved to Spartanburg, one of my favorite holiday traditions has been attending the holiday shows performed by Jay Coffman (and friends) at the former HUB-BUB Showroom. The plays that Jay selected—“Santaland Diaries,” “Every Christmas Story Ever Told and then Some,” “The Reindeer Monologues”—were all beautiful, thoughtful, and occasionally irreverent reminders of the same idea: Christmas is complicated. They were plays that spoke across audiences. They celebrated and satirized; they were both ironic and sincere. Whether you spent the whole year counting down to Christmas or you started wearing earplugs in November to drown out the Christmas tunes, these plays were for you.

“A Sparkle City Holiday Spectacular,” the upcoming collaboration between HUB-BUB and the Spartanburg Little Theatre, is the next step in this now decade long tradition. The show is an entirely original creation, written and performed by members of the Spartanburg community. And in many ways, it’s a fairly traditional holiday show. It’s a story about people who have lost sight of what’s important and need each other’s help to find their way back to the holiday spirit. At the center are a brother and sister who, with the help of a little Christmas magic, are sent on a journey to save a calloused TV-show host from ruining the holidays for everyone. There are big musical numbers, funny sketches, and a couple of guest appearances. But when you put all of it together, more than anything else, the show is honest and funny; it tries to paint a picture of Christmas that’s complicated, that belongs to everyone equally.

For me, working on this show represents a holiday tradition that I’ve become even more attached to: spending time with people I love. Getting to work on this show is a privilege in the same way that getting to live in this city is a privilege. Everyday I find myself surrounded with talented and passionate people who surprise and inspire me. The writers, the actors, the musicians, the staff and volunteers for both HUB-BUB and SLT, all of the people involved in making this show are what make it so special. They work hard on this show because they care about each other, about Spartanburg, and about the people who live here. I can almost guarantee that right now, as you read this, no matter what the time, a writer is huddled over their laptop revising, a musician is hiding out practicing harmonies, and an actor is running lines in their head. So come out on December 12, take a break from everything else, and spend some time with people you care about, and the people who are working so hard right now because they care about you.

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Eric Kocher is the Managing Director of HUB-BUB. He moved to Spartanburg in 2011 as a writer-in-residence for the Hub City Writers Project after completing his MFA in Creative Writing at the University of Houston. Some of his poetry has been published in A Public Space, Best New Poets, Boston Review, and elsewhere. He also teaches English part time at Wofford College.